Wilderness.org - National Environmental Policy Acthttp://wilderness.org/tags/national-environmental-policy-act
enTrue Grit: Leslie Jones, General Counsel, talks about the significant value of the National Environmental Policy Acthttp://wilderness.org/resource/true-grit-leslie-jones-general-counsel-talks-about-significant-value-national-environmental
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>True Grit: Leslie Jones, General Counsel, talks about the significant value of the National Environmental Policy Act.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-publication-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2012-06-25T00:00:00-04:00">Monday, June 25, 2012</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-media field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><table class="sticky-enabled">
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<tr class="odd"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="Audio icon" title="audio/mpeg" src="/modules/file/icons/audio-x-generic.png" /> <a href="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/TrueGrit-EditedLeslie.mp3" type="audio/mpeg; length=885888">TrueGrit-EditedLeslie.mp3</a></span></td><td>865.13 KB</td> </tr>
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</div></div></div>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:13:24 +0000Graziella Jackson2015 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/resource/true-grit-leslie-jones-general-counsel-talks-about-significant-value-national-environmental#commentsThe Environment: A Long Term Investment Strategy?http://wilderness.org/update/environment-long-term-investment-strategy
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Apr 30, 2012</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/liese-dart">Liese Dart</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-headline field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Recently, Warren Buffet, often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his legendary investment strategies, offered a recipe for success in an annual report published by Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Buffet named three &ldquo;key ingredients&rdquo; for companies to remain profitable and competitive in the 21st century: invest in &ldquo;people, communities and the environment,&rdquo; advising that &ldquo;taking shortcuts is not the pathway to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, nor is it an avenue toward satisfying customers.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Buffet also noted that &ldquo;today our world is changing faster than ever before &ndash; economic, geo-political and environmental challenges abound.&rdquo; <a href="http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/" target="_blank">Berkshire Hathaway</a> has made significant forward looking investments in renewable technologies including solar. If we heed his words, a smart strategy would be to invest in infrastructure for the future&mdash;for example, to link remote areas of the west that contain many of the country&rsquo;s most excellent renewable energy resources. As Warren Buffet prophesizes, gaining competitive advantage requires businesses to think long term about where people live, how to tread lightly on the land and technologies with a long shelf life.</p>
<p>Remarkably, Congress recognized the wisdom of protecting &ldquo;people, communities and the environment&rdquo; over 40 years before Buffet offered his multi-billion dollar advice. In 1969, Congress passed the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/" target="_blank">National Environmental Policy Act</a> (NEPA) with overwhelming, and now rare, bipartisan support. The law requires that before undertaking projects that may significantly affect the environment, including air and water resources, federal agencies must assess the impacts of proposals, solicit the input of all affected stakeholders and disclose their findings publicly.</p>
<p>Critically, NEPA recognizes that the public &ndash; which includes industry, landowners, local and state governments and business owners &ndash; can make important contributions by providing unique expertise. NEPA&rsquo;s common sense axiom is simply &ldquo;look before you leap,&rdquo; which is exactly the type of smart investment strategy Warren Buffet prescribes.</p>
<p>If Buffet&rsquo;s advice doesn&rsquo;t win you over, heed the advice of the national security experts, which advocates that renewable energy project developers should consult with military bases at the initial &ldquo;napkin planning stages&rdquo; of project development, a practical step towards avoiding project delays due to conflicting uses of the land.</p>
<p>Nowhere are the benefits of public input and environmental analysis more evident than in the current solar development and planning efforts taking place across the west. Solar development has shown NEPA is working&mdash;the average time for environmental review for utility-scale solar projects on public lands in 2010 was 1.4 years, well within other permitting time frames for similarly sized projects, and remarkable given these projects&rsquo; are unique in scale and complexity.</p>
<p>To spur further responsible investment in large-scale solar , the Department of the Interior has nearly completed a <a href="http://solareis.anl.gov/sez/index.cfm" target="_blank">six-state study </a>of the best solar resources on public lands with the lowest environmental and other conflicts. This process&mdash;afforded under NEPA&rsquo;s &ldquo;programmatic&rdquo; review, will lead <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/13/v-wireless/4184253/creating-solar-zones-would-spur.html" target="_blank">investors</a> and developers to low conflict project sites across the southwest, and result in better projects.&nbsp; Using the NEPA process, the DOI has received invaluable input from industry groups, other agencies, environmental groups and concerned citizens.</p>
<p>Recently however, many in Congress have failed to recognize that long-term economic competitiveness requires both investment in sustainable technologies and robust environmental review.&nbsp; In the past year alone, over forty pieces of legislation have been proposed which aim at weakening or waiving NEPA&rsquo;s requirements for public participation and early environmental analysis.&nbsp; In reality, circumventing environmental review has the potential to result in &ldquo;real&rdquo; costs to projects by ignoring potential alternatives, inviting litigation and delaying permits. And as Mr. Buffet&rsquo;s advises &ldquo;taking shortcuts is not the pathway to achieving sustainable competitive advantage&rdquo; &ndash; what&rsquo;s good for the environment is good for the bottom line.</p>
<p><em>This piece was co-authored by Stephen Schima of the Partnership Project.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:55:58 +0000Tom Steinfeldt2131 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/environment-long-term-investment-strategy#commentsTrue Grit: A Heap-of-NEPA lies http://wilderness.org/resource/true-grit-heap-nepa-lies
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h3>
The significant impacts of a NEPA-less world</h3>
<p>
Imagine a government that builds a four-lane highway through Yellowstone National Park, or that turns the Grand Canyon into a regional landfill. This government does not consider the environment or the effects of its actions when making these decisions, and it does not consult with you, the American public, before taking action. The <a href="http://www.saveourenvironment.org/o/1/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=70" target="_blank">National Environmental Policy Act</a> (NEPA) requires federal agencies to consider impacts and consult with the public on every major federal action significantly affecting the human environment. Because of NEPA, projects have a reduced risk of litigation and experience fewer delays. Some <a href="http://barrasso.senate.gov/public/_files/War_on_Western_Jobs_Report_Final.pdf" target="_blank">would have you believe</a> that NEPA is nothing more than red-tape.&nbsp; The True Grit is that with transparency and attention to full exploration of the issues, NEPA prevents delays.</p>
<p>
<a href="http://wilderness.org/content/nepa-cases-filed-compared-all-us-cases-2001-2009?size=thumbnail"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/images/chartII_0.thumbnail.JPG" style="width: 87px; height: 100px" /></a></p>
<p>
<strong>Democracy in Action</strong><br />
NEPA provides the public an opportunity to discuss projects with federal agencies at many points along the path to project completion. The public includes everyone: residents, community groups, local governments, businesses, and anyone else who wants to contribute to the conversation.</p>
<p>
For example, when the Montana Department of Transportation <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/nepa/montana.asp" target="_blank">proposed to change Route 93 </a>into a much larger five-lane highway, NEPA gave power to local residents to say, &ldquo;Wait! There&rsquo;s a way you can do this project without sacrificing our farms and wildlife habitat!&rdquo; Because of NEPA the agency listened to the public&rsquo;s concerns and the public gave the agency&nbsp; recommendations for an improved project plan.&nbsp; From this collaboration, the agency adopted an alternate design, with the public&rsquo;s approval, which better addressed safety, environmental, and local cultural concerns about sprawl from the larger highway.</p>
<p>
<strong>NEPA Prevents Delays</strong><br />
Agencies that properly follow NEPA procedures from the very start and involve the community and affected stakeholders reduce litigation delays. The True Grit is that NEPA is not the root of the problem. Institutions on all sides of the debate agree that the required NEPA process benefits them and the project because it reduces risks of litigation. Although turning to the courts is a legitimate method to hold the government accountable, agencies can easily prevent needless litigation delays with smart from the start mentality.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
For example, when the Forest Service received public comments on a <a href="http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/attachments/may2011/CEQ_ARRA_NEPA_Report_May_2011.pdf" target="_blank">road project</a> in Idaho, one commenter noted a discrepancy in the project proposal that could have put an endangered species at risk! The public&rsquo;s participation prevented litigation and&nbsp; kept the agency from discovering its mistake mid-construction, saving time and taxpayers&rsquo; dollars. With more people checking on what the government is doing before it irretrievably commits taxpayer dollars to a project or permanently harms the environment, projects are smart from the start. When an agency properly follows NEPA environmental analysis procedures, considers public comments, and then takes action, the project can run without unnecessary delays.</p>
<p>
Examples like this are why Bureau of Land Management Deputy Director Mike Pool <a href="http://naturalresources.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PoolTestimony06.23.11.pdf" target="_blank">recently stated</a> at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, &ldquo;I believe any action that would shortchange the NEPA process would result in more lawsuits.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
The regulated business community also values the public participation requirement under NEPA. Tom Wray, Project Manager of SunZia Transmission Project, testified in a House subcommittee hearing that &ldquo;NEPA still works.&rdquo; On public participation, Mr. Wray stated that &ldquo;[o]nce [the public is] made a part of the project planning and their recommendations are seriously evaluated with all other related project imperatives, the result is a better one for all involved.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<strong>A Brief Look at the Numbers</strong><br />
Certainly there is litigation challenging NEPA decisions and documents, however these challenges barely register on the chart of cases filed.&nbsp; In 2009, 278,000 lawsuits were filed; only 97 NEPA cases were filed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<a href="http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/legal_corner/litigation.html" target="_blank">Between 2001 to 2009</a>, NEPA cases account for an average of less than a half of a percent (i.e., 0.26%) of U.S. Civil suits. Note also, these numbers only include NEPA cases that were filed, not the cases that actually went to trial that could potentially delay federal agencies. That number would be smaller still.</p>
<p>
And lest you believe that NEPA is a tool wielded only by the conservation community, a portion of NEPA cases brought in court each year are brought by business groups or other government entities. Another significant portion of NEPA cases are brought by state, local, and tribal governments.</p>
<p>
<em><strong>A Few Questions to Ponder:</strong></em></p>
<ol>
<li>
Shouldn&rsquo;t Congress want fact checking, recommendations, and comments from the public, which very often include expert opinions?</li>
<li>
Shouldn&rsquo;t agencies design smart from the start projects prior to project implementation?</li>
<li>
Don&#39;t oil and gas companies, developers and local governments also have equal opportunity to provide input and information as part of the NEPA process?</li>
<li>
Doesn&rsquo;t it make sense in the United States, a country touted for its level of democracy, to have public input on all federal projects that significantly affect&nbsp; the quality of the human environment?</li>
<li>
Does it make sense that some congressional members seek to shorten or waive completely the public comment period that NEPA requires?</li>
</ol>
<p>
<a href="/sites/default/files/legacy/TrueGrit_Access_NEPA_MainPiece_July%202011.pdf" target="_blank">Download the PDF version of the fact sheet</a><br />
<a href="http://wilderness.org/content/nepa-cases-filed-compared-all-us-cases-2001-2009" target="_blank">Download the NEPA graphic</a><br />
<a href="http://wilderness.org/content/true-grit-leslie-jones-general-counsel-talks-about-significant-value-national-environnmental" target="_blank">Related audio file</a></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-publication-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2011-07-25T00:00:00-04:00">Monday, July 25, 2011</span></div></div></div>Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:43:25 +0000Anonymous105675 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/resource/true-grit-heap-nepa-lies#commentsRulings Strength NEPA Oversight of Gas Drilling Absent SDWA Rulehttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/rulings-strength-nepa-oversight-gas-drilling-absent-sdwa-rule
<div class="field field-name-field-date-published field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2009-09-17T21:00:00-04:00">Sep 17, 2009</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-link field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://wilderness.org/files/Inside-EPA-Nepa.pdf" target="_blank">Kate Winston, Inside EPA</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Excerpts:</p>
<p>Key federal courts are backing activists in suits under the National Environmental; Policy Act (NEPA) to review the impacts of natural gas drilling fluids on underground aquifers, rulings that environmentalists hope will bolster pending bills to restore EPA&rsquo;s Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authority to oversee hydraulic fracturing&mdash;a controversial gas drilling procedure that requires injection of chemicals into wells.</p>
<p>&hellip;Meanwhile a federal district court in Colorado September 3 granted environmentalists&rsquo; request for a preliminary injunction to block exploratory oil and gas drilling in Baca National Wildlife Refuge until the resolution of the case&hellip;</p>
</div></div></div><section class="field field-name-field-attachments field-type-file field-label-above"><h2 class="field-label">Attachments:&nbsp;</h2><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="PDF icon" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Inside-EPA-Nepa.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=90694">Inside-EPA-Nepa.pdf</a></span></div></div></section>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000Anonymous102336 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/recent-coverage/rulings-strength-nepa-oversight-gas-drilling-absent-sdwa-rule#commentsNational Environmental Policy Act Improved by New Guidance from White Househttp://wilderness.org/press-release/national-environmental-policy-act-improved-new-guidance-white-house
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>On February 18, 2010, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued new draft guidance documents requiring federal agencies to consider greenhouse gas emissions and climate change when carrying out National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. The guidance documents can be <a target="_blank" href="http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/current_developments/new_ceq_nepa_guidance.html">found online here</a>. The Wilderness Society applauded the new guidance and issued the following statement.</p>
<h3>Statement of Leslie Jones, The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s General Counsel</h3>
<p>The National Environmental Policy Act is tremendously valuable to all Americans because it provides&nbsp; opportunities for dialogue and shared vision. We applaud CEQ for issuing draft guidance that will inform and assist in NEPA&rsquo;s implementation in the 21st century.</p>
<p>Guidance from CEQ related to effects of climate change is long overdue and we commend CEQ&rsquo;s first steps. Because it is this century&rsquo;s most pressing environmental issue, climate change must be taken into consideration in the course of all federal agencies&rsquo; compliance with NEPA. We urge CEQ to make this guidance applicable to Federal land and resource management actions. Our public lands are emerging as a crucial laboratories and battlefields for climate change in the 21st century, and the public should benefit from the same transparency of effects and enhanced decision-making that NEPA ensures for all other Federal actions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-release-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-02-19T00:00:00-05:00">Feb 19, 2010</span></div></div></div>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:26:12 +0000Anonymous102923 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/press-release/national-environmental-policy-act-improved-new-guidance-white-house#comments40 years of success stories with NEPAhttp://wilderness.org/blog/40-years-success-stories-nepa
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Oct 27, 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Over the last 40 years, NEPA has brought about what one commentator describes as a &ldquo;revolutionary change in governmental decision-making&rdquo;. But just what sort of change and what impact has it had on you and I, and our environment? A recently released report, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.saveourenvironment.org/assets/nepasuccessstories.pdf">NEPA Success Stories: Celebrating 40 Years of Transparency and Open Government</a>, answers just these questions.</p>
<p>The report contains 13 vignettes that describe real world, real people examples of how NEPA has improved our communities, our health and our special places for the better. NEPA has had expansive effects, ranging from protection of important wetlands from road construction, to safeguarding a community&rsquo;s drinking water from dangerous uranium mill wastes, to preservation of one of the nation&rsquo;s last historic brick highways.</p>
<p>One story that I found particularly heartening and illustrative was the U.S. Forest Service&rsquo;s use of NEPA in making its decision to reassess the maze of roads that had proliferated in the Dixie National Forest in southern Utah. The remarkable part of this story is not so much that the Forest Service decided to close inappropriate roads, but that the closure was met with wide-ranging acceptance from all types of forest users.</p>
<p>The Dixie National Forest contains more than 2 million acres of deep canyons, giant ponderosa pines, and red sandstone towers. During its review of the Forest&rsquo;s roads (many of which were unauthorized roads created by frequent motorized off road vehicle travel), the Service wanted a way to engage all users &mdash; motorized, non-motorized, backcountry horseman, bikers &mdash; and avoid polarizing controversy. The Forest managers found just what they were looking for in NEPA.</p>
<p>While it would have been sufficient for the Forest Service to apply just those minimum procedures required by NEPA, they instead took heed of Congress&rsquo;s instructions to &ldquo;encourage and facilitate public involvement&rdquo; and took a number of steps beyond what was minimally required. The Forest Service developed an interactive public web site with information about the roads and routes throughout the forest, held numerous public meetings where Forest Service staff consulted with individuals about the closing or retaining of specific routes, and extended the NEPA process an additional year in order to more fully discuss individual comments they had received from the public. </p>
<p>Because so many of those people who had a stake in the final decision were allowed to meaningfully participate in the process, the Forest Service&rsquo;s final rule &mdash; which closed 48% of the 5,200 miles of the Forest&rsquo;s roads and routes and 73% of unauthorized routes &mdash; was met with broad acceptance within the community.</p>
<p>By taking the purposes behind NEPA true to heart, the managers of the Dixie National Forest provided a meaningful forum for public participation, and, more importantly, collaboration. Just as Congress envisioned 40 years ago, NEPA, when properly implemented, truly does lead to more informed and improved government decision-making.</p>
<p>I encourage you to take a look at the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.saveourenvironment.org/assets/nepasuccessstories.pdf">report </a>and see how other agencies across the country are using NEPA to better their own decision-making. And remember, NEPA gives each of us the opportunity to directly participate in government decisions that affect our environment &mdash; take advantage of it!</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/DixieNFHenderson.jpg?itok=Tvtlo0D2" alt="" title="Dixie National Forest. Photo: U.S. Forest Service" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Dixie National Forest. Photo: U.S. Forest Service</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:07:35 +0000Anonymous103687 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/40-years-success-stories-nepa#commentsOil and Gas Leasing Reforms Arrive: Our efforts paid off! http://wilderness.org/blog/oil-and-gas-leasing-reforms-arrive-our-efforts-paid
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jan 8, 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/jennifer-dickson">Jennifer Dickson</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Great news! The oil and gas reforms we&rsquo;ve been pressing for with the Obama administration have finally appeared. An announcement this week from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his team promises to repair Bush-era practices that allowed sensitive lands to be quickly leased to oil and gas development without proper environmental assessments.</p>
<p>If you were one of the many who helped us speak up on this issue, thank you! You&rsquo;re efforts will help create more balanced oil and gas leasing decisions and help places like Utah&rsquo;s red rock canyon lands, where land parcels were rushed to the auction block without full analysis of how they would be impacted by energy development.</p>
<p>As part of the reforms, Secretary Salazar announced Jan. 6 that:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Bureau of Land Management must conduct required environmental analyses of oil and gas proposals whenever there are extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of an endangered species or the presence of cultural resources like panels of ancient petroglyphs and rock art, as in Utah.</li>
<li>A Secretarial Order is establishing an Energy Reform Team that will identify and oversee energy reforms.</li>
<li>Immediate direction to the BLM will ensure that they, not the industry, will determine where, when and how oil and gas leasing will occur.</li>
</ul>
<p>We are encouraged that DOI acknowledges problems with the BLM&rsquo;s oil and gas program and are working to fix them. Under the Bush administration, the BLM was issuing leases in such a fast and furious manner that the BLM staff did not have the chance to actually visit the land and parcels being put up for lease. As a result, inappropriate lands, like sensitive areas in Utah&rsquo;s red rock canyon country were offered for oil and gas leasing with little review.</p>
<p>The BLM&rsquo;s own review of their oil and gas leasing program led to a report last October that identified this and numerous other problems with a group of oil and gas leases in Utah&rsquo;s canyon country. The report determined that the BLM should play a greater role in determining which parcels to lease and not just lease the parcels nominated by industry sight-unseen. This week&rsquo;s announcement directs the BLM to take a greater role in defining which areas will be leased and how the leases will be configured and encourages on-the-ground interdisciplinary review of the lands to be leased. This will allow potential conflicts to be identified and addressed before the land is leased. Common sense measures like the protection of air quality, watershed, wildlife, and wilderness will be part of the decision making process.</p>
<p>Another part of the announcement addressed our concerns from a Bush-era decision that allowed oil and gas companies to avoid compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to ensure proper public involvement in decisions affecting the environment and to take into account all of the resources, such as water and wildlife, impacted by a development proposal. It also ensures the BLM looks at alternatives to proposals impacting its lands and identifies mitigation measures.</p>
<p>A big problem arose when Congress adopted the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the administration began to allow exemptions from doing environmental analysis for some actions associated with developing oil and gas on Americans' public lands. The BLM&rsquo;s liberal use of these exemptions resulted in hundreds of activities not receiving proper analysis. In fact, a recent Government Accountability Office report found a lack of clarity with respect to when these exemptions should be used.</p>
<p>Interior&rsquo;s announcement addresses these concerns, which The Wilderness Society and the greater conservation community have been raising, and it instructs the BLM to comply with the law that already exists. This means the BLM needs to do a NEPA analysis whenever there are extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of an endangered species or the presence of cultural resources like panels of ancient petroglyphs and rock art, as in Utah.</p>
<p>Finally through the new Energy Reform Team, the Interior Department will take a serious look at what the law requires for oil and gas leasing on our public lands. The Wilderness Society hopes this new framework will help to implement more responsible leasing policies, though it is still unclear what such a reform team will look like.</p>
<p>We are hopeful that these reforms will move the oil and gas leasing program in a new direction&nbsp;&mdash; a direction that leads to compliance of existing laws and energy development that provides security to our nation while protecting our most valued lands. The Wilderness Society believes we can do both, but that there is a right way to conduct business on public lands. There is a long battle ahead of us and this is simply one piece to a large energy puzzle as we look to grow our economy and provide domestic fuels for America.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: smaller;">photo: </span></strong><span style="font-size: smaller;">Desolation Canyon in Utah, which has been threatened by oil and gas development. Photo by Phil Hanceford.</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/DesolationCanyon-threatened-by-oil-and-gas-development-Utah-PhilHanceford.jpg?itok=Lyld7tmy" alt="" title="Desolation Canyon in Utah, which has been threatened by oil and gas development. Photo by Phil Hanceford." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Desolation Canyon in Utah, which has been threatened by oil and gas development. Photo by Phil Hanceford.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:47:38 +0000Anonymous102766 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/oil-and-gas-leasing-reforms-arrive-our-efforts-paid#commentsCountry’s first major environmental law turns 40http://wilderness.org/blog/country%E2%80%99s-first-major-environmental-law-turns-40
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jan 6, 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Happy 40th Anniversary! Forty years of success is a noteworthy milestone for a marriage or a birthday or even for a law. On Jan. 1, we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The act, or NEPA as it is known, was the first major environmental law in the United States. And it was passed with a huge majority of bi-partisan support&mdash;quite a feat!</p>
<p>Maybe not everyone has heard of NEPA, but generations of us have benefited from its vision and emphasis on public engagement.</p>
<p>NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions. This requires that the government&rsquo;s decisions are grounded in rigorous scientific analysis and that the decisions are made in a transparent manner.</p>
<p>Thanks to NEPA, communities and individuals can participate in federal decisions that impact their health and livelihoods, such as public access to a treasured national park, the permitting of a highway near your children&rsquo;s school, or the location for a hazardous waste dump that could impact your public water supply.</p>
<p>On Jan. 4 President Obama recognized NEPA&rsquo;s 40th anniversary and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-40th-anniversary-national-environmental-policy-act">signed a Proclamation</a> celebrating the accomplishments of this statute. Although much has changed since 1970, a need remains for the tools provided by NEPA, which makes certain we have transparent, accountable and responsible decision-making. As President Obama said in his Proclamation:</p>
<p class="rteindent1"><em>America's economic health and prosperity are inexorably linked to the productive and sustainable use of our environment. That is why NEPA remains a vital tool for my Administration as we work to protect our Nation's environment and revitalize our economy. . . . With smart, sustainable policies like those established under NEPA, we can meet our responsibility to future generations of Americans, so they may hope to enjoy the beauty and utility of a clean, healthy planet.</em></p>
<p>In case you&rsquo;re wondering, the 40th Anniversary is the &ldquo;Ruby&rdquo; anniversary. Happy Anniversary to this &ldquo;Gem&rdquo; of law!</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div>Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:09:51 +0000Anonymous102762 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/country%E2%80%99s-first-major-environmental-law-turns-40#comments